


Naamah's Gift

by Aeriel



Category: Kushiel's Legacy - Jacqueline Carey
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:09:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5521517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeriel/pseuds/Aeriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"From that assignation, Alcuin came home heavy-lidded and smiling. He may have been her gift, but Mierette no Orchis possessed the secret of bestowing joy in the act of worshiping Naamah. That is the canon of Orchis House, and that secret she shared with Alcuin."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Naamah's Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Edo no Hana (Edonohana)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edonohana/gifts).



The only thing I truly knew about Mierette no Orchis before that night was that she had a wonderfully infectious laugh. When I accepted the assignation, I learned something else: she loved surprises.  
  
Cecilie Laveau-Perrin, former Night Court adept herself (and former tutor in the ways of Naamah to Phèdre and I) wished to bestow upon her dear friend a birthday present like no other. Mierette no Orchis had been present at my debut, and bid rather more ardently for my virginity than expected, which had not gone unnoticed.  
  
"Well, Alcuin?" Delaunay smiled. "It should make a pleasant change of pace, don't you think?"  
  
My two previous patrons had both been men whose activities Delaunay wished to keep a close eye on, men whom he had suspicions about. I understood perfectly well what my purpose was with them. With Mierette no Orchis… I was less certain.  
  
She was of the Night Court, utterly uninterested in politics or intrigue. What did Delaunay stand to gain from sending me to her?  
  
And that was when I realized I was asking the wrong question. What did _I_ stand to gain from a night with Mierette no Orchis?  
  
If I pleased her, the City of Elua would hear of it. Phèdre had remarked many times that the Night Court loved good gossip, and talked oft of patrons who left a strong impression, and Mierette, having made her marque, was better connected than most. My reputation would grow, perhaps widely enough to reach the ears of others that Delaunay had not yet managed to lure in.  
  
"Yes, my lord." I smiled back at Delaunay. _This and more, I will do for you._  
  
There was another reason for my agreement. Cecilie had taught Phèdre and I to the best of her ability, through books and diagrams, and we had attended showings as every young Servant of Naamah must. But, as Phèdre often complained, theoretical knowledge was no substitute for experience, and in that regard my training was sorely lacking.

This too, I hoped, would one day serve Delaunay.

The details were arranged, the price was set, and I joined Cecilie some hours before the festivities for Mierette's birthday were to begin, so as to covertly slip upstairs before my patron arrived.

Cecilie studied me with an artisan's eye. "As usual, Anafiel's taste is beyond reproach, and yet… it requires a final touch." She produced a length of red ribbon, and I raised my eyebrows a slight fraction. "Only as much as makes you comfortable, child. Mierette would find it amusing, but I assure you, she will be far more pleased by your presence than your outermost trappings."

"Are you sure she wouldn't prefer me to dispense with clothing altogether?" I meant it as a joke at first, but my dry affect must have registered as sincerity, for Cecilie's face lit with excitement. To surprise a reaction like that one out of Cecilie was rare enough that I immediately reconsidered. It was a warm night, after all.  
  
That said, there is no small difference between proposing to appear in ribbons and naught else and acting upon that proposal, and when I found myself in Mierette's bedchamber, red ribbons in one hand, I had more than a moment of self-doubt. Surely I was about to make myself ridiculous.  
  
Still, _Joy In Laughter_ was Orchis House's motto, and my dignity had taken far worse blows.  

When the door swung open at long last, Mierette, radiant in sky blue, gasped out loud. Then, immediately, she burst into joyous laughter. "Splendid! Oh, _Cecilie,_ you naughty woman!"  
  
"Are you pleased?" I said innocently.  
  
_"Pleased?"_ Mierette grinned. "Alcuin no Delaunay, unquestionably you make the most attractive present I've been offered today." She flung herself down on the bed beside me, and cupped my cheek. "And I fully intend to show you just how grateful I am."  
  
I smiled. "Grateful?"  
  
"Yes, grateful." She tilted her head. "Does that surprise you?"  
  
Truthfully it did not, but being asked the question did. "You're my first woman patron," I said instead, sidestepping the question. "Does that surprise you?"

Mierette shook her head, golden curls bouncing. "Although I am terribly flattered! Perhaps I can still teach you a thing or two."  
  
I took her hand in mine, and kissed the palm. "More than that, surely?"  
  
Mierette's eyes sparkled with merriment. "Is that a challenge?" She slipped her fingers underneath the ribbon, flush against the bare skin of my belly, and leaned in. "If so, I accept."  
  
I returned her smile, so easily I marveled at it. In her gaze there was desire, yes, but somewhat else that put me more at ease than I had been.  

"I hate to spoil the mystery but I absolutely _must_ know." Mierette ran one finger down, following the ribbon to my navel, and I inhaled sharply. "Did you have assistance, winding this ribbon about you, or did you manage it yourself?"

"Myself," I admitted, cheeks heating.  
  
Mirette clapped her hands together with delight. "Clever boy! You've earned yourself a kiss."  
  
She dropped a brief kiss on the tip of my nose, startling me into laughter once again.  
  
Mierette beamed, and I couldn't help but lean in and kiss her mouth.  
  
I tasted wine on her lips, though I did not think she was drunk on it, and felt her smile against mine before she deepened the kiss. My hands found the clasp of her gown at the nape of her neck and unfastened it, trailing two fingers down her spine to the small of her back with deliberate slowness. I felt rather than saw the fabric tumble down her front, exposing her breasts.

"Very nice," Mierette murmured, nuzzling the side of my face. Then her smile turned wicked, and she blew a hot puff of air onto my flushed face. Our eyes met, and I knew she was doing her best to stifle a giggle, which in turn was causing _me_ to suppress laughter,which was making it all the more difficult for her to keep her composure. The absurdity overtook us in the same moment, and we sat there with our arms around each other, laughing, until Mierette finally sighed and rested her forehead against mine.

And this, I realized, was the genius of House Orchis. In that moment of unspoken understanding we were both perfectly relaxed and open, willing to give and share of ourselves without trepidation or affectation.

Inspired, I slid my hands to caress her breasts carefully-- perhaps too carefully.  
  
"They're not fragile," Mierette teased, then kissed my burning cheeks. "Like so." Her thumbs traced the red ribbon over my chest, brushing against my nipples with a sudden sureness that made me catch my breath.  
  
I cupped her breasts more firmly, and copied her motion, with slightly more pressure against her nipples. Mierette made an appreciative noise as she leaned in to pull loose the bow at my shoulder, wrapping part of its length around one hand. With one sharp tug of the ribbon my body met hers and I gasped. She was warm and soft, and quite suddenly kissing my neck, which I had not been prepared for. "Oh!"

"How sweet," Mierette murmured, and I flushed again, wishing I were not quite so conscious of my inexperience.

_But that is the commodity they are paying for, after all._

However, I could still twist it to my own advantage.

Mierette raised her head and we kissed again, her hands roaming down my back while mine slid to her thighs, half-covered in the fabric of her gown. Her kiss was even more heady the second time than the first, and I found it was not only my lessons that prompted me to stroke her hips, subtly gathering up the fabric in a caress.

She parted her thighs without hesitation and, though I had naught but theory to go on, so did my hand follow.

Here, at least, my carefully considered approach was well suited to the task.

I felt Mierette shift against me, pressing against my hand. Her warm breath teased my ear as she murmured, "Faster."

My phallus stirred, and I swallowed, obeying to the best of my ability. Mierette's first soft moan vibrated through my body, her hot skin almost unbearably good against mine. Her breaths were coming in short bursts, and all I wanted was to coax more sounds of pleasure out of her, give her every wonderful feeling she was giving to me. She liked this, but I could do more, I knew I could.

I shifted my hand and delved deeper with my other fingers, and was rewarded with a cry and Mierette's fingers digging into my back, her movements increasing in speed and intensity. I ground against her too, my arousal increasingly desperate for acknowledgement. She kissed my neck again, her hands cupping my buttocks, and I groaned into her hair.

Abruptly I felt her tongue tracing the shell of my ear, causing me to burst into helpless laughter. Mierette raised her head and we both grinned. 

On impulse, I traced the shape of her generous mouth with the thumb of my other hand. Mierette waggled her eyebrows at me and, to my shock, took my thumb into her mouth and _sucked,_ sending a jolt of pleasure through me.

Before I could even manage coherent thought, Mierette grazed the pads of her fingers against my chest and lightly pushed me backwards onto the bed, a mischevious gleam in her eye. My breath quickened as she pressed kisses first to my collarbone, then my nipple, then lower, _lower--_

When she began the _languisement_ I gasped aloud.

It was nothing like I could have imagined, the sensations so immediate and intense it took all of my discipline not to spend myself in her mouth at once. And I could see in Mierette's eyes that she _knew_ , and that knowing it was heightening her own arousal.

I tried to do as I had been taught, gently caressing her scalp with my fingers, letting the strands of her hair twine about them, but-- but I could scarcely find the concentration to remember why I should, let alone keep my hands steady and unwavering, not when I was lost in the heat of her mouth, or the heat of her eyes.

A soft cry escaped me when Mierette withdrew, much to my own embarrassment, but Mierette only laughed, and I understood it was out of affection and not scorn.

 _Remember this_ , I thought, panting. _All of this._

She still had part of the ribbon that was wrapped around my body curled in her hand, which gave me an idea. I smiled, and arched my hips, only to wrench my body back onto the bed with such force that Mierette tumbled forward onto me with a surprised peal of joyous laughter.

"I see you're a quick study!" Mierette teased, her thighs brushing maddeningly close to where I wanted them.

"I do have a very good teacher," I said breathlessly, resting my hands on the small of her back.

We kissed again, shifting to our sides as Mierette wrapped one leg around my hips, and I groaned into her mouth as I felt her wetness against my phallus.

"And fortunately," Mierette whispered, kissing my jawline, "she is very interested in how much you can learn in one night."

 _All knowledge is worth having_ , I thought, and smiled.


End file.
